The Returning EX (Sophia and John)

Sophia stared intently at the family of three, all the while being reminded of the fact that she used to

want a life like the one they led. Unfortunately, nobody was there to fend for her in the past, nor did she

have someone whom she wanted to fend for. The child chuckled, while the mother followed suit.

Despite his stoic expression, the father’s eyes were gleaming with joy.

Sophia quickly averted her gaze, but as soon as she did, a man standing not too far away from her

came into view. The scene reminded her of back when she wanted to scale the walls, only to see him

watching her while standing under a tree.

Dylan approached her upon noticing that Sophia had seen him. “Why are you here alone?”

Sophia examined him before saying, “I could ask the same of you.”

Dylan sat down beside her before saying, “My dad’s birthday is coming soon, so I came to buy him a

present.”

His reply startled her, which made her stammer, “Your dad—Hold on, you mean, Uncle Owen will be

celebrating his birthday?”

A chuckle escaped Dylan. “Yeah, did John not tell you? His birthday is one week away, so the

household might be hosting a celebration.”

Sophia pursed her lips before trying to find excuses to cover for herself. “I was so focused on working

toward opening my own shop, so I might’ve missed out on it when he told me.” She recalled that Owen

never celebrated his birthday throughout the time she spent living with the Constances, so she wasn’t

sure when his birthday was.

Upon hearing what she said, Dylan grunted in response. “Now that I’ve told you about it, you will have

to come.”

Sophia nodded as she replied, “Yeah, I’ll try to make time.” However, she wasn’t sure if the Constances

celebrated their elders’ birthdays together with the entire household during a banquet, as they weren’t

on the best terms with each other, so if they happened to decide to not speak to each other during

gatherings, things would turn out to be very awkward.

Before embarking on his quest in the mall, Dylan looked toward Sophia while asking, “Can you provide

some suggestions for me if you have time?”

She was startled by his sudden request. What kind of suggestion does he want from me? Does it have

to do with Uncle Owen’s birthday present?

She wanted to dismiss the idea, as she assumed that whatever a country girl like her picked out

wouldn’t suit Owen’s taste anyway, but Dylan seemed to think it was a great idea. Thus, he stood while

saying, “Come on, let’s take a look inside since you’re alone anyway.” Without giving her a chance to

turn him down, Dylan headed straight for the mall.

Meanwhile, Sophia cried out in an attempt to stop him, but to no avail. A frown formed on Sophia’s face

as she mumbled, “Where I come from, we need only bring a few kilograms of pork to the birthday boy

or girl’s house, so who the heck knows what you would want?” However, she followed behind him

despite her complaints.

Picking out birthday presents was no laughing matter, so the both of them entered the gift section as if

they were ready for a tough battle. Not even Dylan knew what to choose despite having made a round

in the section, say less of Sophia. All of the gifts seemed pointless in her eyes, and buying them would

be a waste of money.

Dylan looked toward her as he asked, “Do you have any suggestions?”

“Nope.” Sophia gave him a shrug before telling him the truth as she perceived, as she liked nothing in

the gifts section. While casting a glance at Dylan, she said, “I suppose Uncle Owen isn’t in need of

anything, is he?”

Dylan pondered on her words, which he realized to hold some truth. A family like his wasn’t lacking

anything in the material sense, as they would buy anything that they set their sights on.

Sophia let out a laughter seemingly out of the blue. “You’re slightly younger than John, so I think your

parents would be delighted if you brought with you a girlfriend.” She went on to laugh at her own joke.

Upon hearing what she said, Dylan followed suit after glancing her way. “I don’t think I would be able to

achieve that within such a short period of time.”

His answer came as a surprise to her, so much so that she had to arch a brow. “Why is that so? You

have great assets, so you should be able to do so quick enough.”

In the ensuing silence, Sophia rambled on, “However, a family like yours pride themselves in finding a

matching partner, but it is difficult to find someone whom you deem to fit all the prerequisites.” She then

turned to look at him. “Did nobody ever introduce you to anyone?”

After a moment’s pause while staring at the faraway shelf, Dylan replied, “I guess there used to be

one.”

Sophia let out a chuckle. “What does that even mean? You should be able to give a definite ‘yes’ or

‘no’, so why such an ambiguous answer?”

After pondering about his answer, he replied, “While someone tried to introduce a girl to me, my

parents turned down the girl before I even got the chance to meet her, as she didn’t meet the

necessary requirements.”

Sophia let out a snort. “So that was what happened… But why would someone introduce you to a girl

who didn’t meet the requirements? Doesn’t your family emphasize those before anything else?”

After scanning his surroundings in the mall, Dylan’s gaze landed on Sophia once again. “I seemed to

be a promise made by the previous generations. I didn’t ask about the specifics, and all I know is that

my parents turned the girl down.”

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